Abstract
Abstract. In a large number of scenarios and missions, the technical, operational and economical advantages of UAS-based photogrammetry and remote sensing over traditional airborne and satellite platforms are apparent. Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) or combined optical/SAR operation in remote areas might be a case of a typical "dull, dirty, dangerous" mission suitable for unmanned operation – in harsh environments such as for example rain forest areas in Brazil, topographic mapping of small to medium sparsely inhabited remote areas with UAS-based photogrammetry and remote sensing seems to be a reasonable paradigm. An example of such a system is the SARVANT platform, a fixed-wing aerial vehicle with a six-meter wingspan and a maximumtake- of-weight of 140 kilograms, able to carry a fifty-kilogram payload. SARVANT includes a multi-band (X and P) interferometric SAR payload, as the P-band enables the topographic mapping of densely tree-covered areas, providing terrain profile information. Moreover, the combination of X- and P-band measurements can be used to extract biomass estimations. Finally, long-term plan entails to incorporate surveying capabilities also at optical bands and deliver real-time imagery to a control station. This paper focuses on the remote-sensing concept in SARVANT, composed by the aforementioned SAR sensor and envisioning a double optical camera configuration to cover the visible and the near-infrared spectrum. The flexibility on the optical payload election, ranging from professional, medium-format cameras to mass-market, small-format cameras, is discussed as a driver in the SARVANT development. The paper also focuses on the navigation and orientation payloads, including the sensors (IMU and GNSS), the measurement acquisition system and the proposed navigation and orientation methods. The latter includes the Fast AT procedure, which performs close to traditional Integrated Sensor Orientation (ISO) and better than Direct Sensor Orientation (DiSO), and features the advantage of not requiring the massive image processing load for the generation of tie points, although it does require some Ground Control Points (GCPs). This technique is further supported by the availability of a high quality INS/GNSS trajectory, motivated by single-pass and repeat-pass SAR interferometry requirements.
Highlights
Photogrammetry with Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) was pioneered by W
As a matter of fact, several years of UAS adoption into various service, technology and research fields –we may focus on photogrammetry and remote sensing, though– have outlined a clear trend based on small aerial platforms, mostly small fixed wing and multi-rotor –with small payloads
Since the SARVANT UAS is equipped with an Inertial Navigation System (INS)/GNSS system featuring a high-end tactical- or navigation-grade Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), the Fast AT method is fit for the purpose of computing orientation parameters for the SARVANT’s optical remote sensing payload
Summary
Photogrammetry with Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) was pioneered by W. As a matter of fact, several years of UAS adoption into various service, technology and research fields –we may focus on photogrammetry and remote sensing, though– have outlined a clear trend based on small aerial platforms, mostly small fixed wing and multi-rotor –with small payloads,–. According (Cho et al, 2013), “slow set-up and adoption of regulations that allow for easy operation and commercial flights is the principal growth limiter for the industry. This is especially the case in the US (the biggest market for most applications) where no flights are allowed and even approval for flight testing in the NAS (national airspace) is very difficult to obtain.”. Further details on the development of the auto-pilot and platform can be found in (Braga et al, 2012)
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